The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-02-03
A VETO NEEDED.

State Commerce bill so long hat the
friends of the measure are becoming
nervous, and its enemies are growing
jubilant. We presume the bill has
friends, though none has ever shown
himself Congress does some very
foolish things. and one of these was the
passage of the bill mentioned. The
more one siu@ieS the measure the less
he understands it, and the more he is
convinced hat congressman knew
nothi of what they were doing 1t
like much OF the legislation of the
day-the work of demagogues. For
years there has been howl against the
railroads. A railway company
can lose money right along,
can carry passengers and freight
for less than the actual cost of traps
portation, can default in its bonded
Interest and fail TO pay dividends on
the capital invested, and can finally go
into bankruptcy, and be sold at sheriff's
sale, and yet all the time three men out
of four will be denouncing it as
"grasping monopoly" IA thief and rob-
Der. engaged in Systematically plumber
ing the people, running cities and COM
munities, and making War on mankind
generally. There are four railways
operating in Utah, and not one of them
Aas paid dividend on its stock for years,
andstill we'll venture the assertion that
four persons out of FIVE will say the
roads are charging too high rates, and
assert that they are members of COM
bination bent on robbing the people.
1t is this senseless, unreasonable
bosh about monopolies, and pools, and
combinations, and excessive rates, and
so on, which gave birth to the Inter
Stat Commerce bill and passed it
through the two houses of Congress.
The men who framed the bill didn't
understand the subject, anS not dozen
Congressman knew for what they were
voting; not a dozen members can to-
day name the provisions in the bill,
and not one can explain how the mea
sure Will help the public. One Senator,
ingalls,, we believe, frankly declared on
the floor of the Chamber that he didn't
understand the bill, that it was not
what was wanted, and that it would do
no good, but said, he would vote for
it. Why would he vote for it? Be-
cause he had to; because he dared not
do otherwise. If he voted against it. he
would be accused of being leagued with
the railroads against the people. Every
other Congressman was in the same
predicament, though they dared not
confess it. They voted for something
they did not understand, simply to sat
isfy the people, or at least to make the
people believe that their Represents
tiyes and Senators were doing some
thing againststhe railroads. The result
is a bill which, if it does anything, will
enable the railroads to plumber the pub
lie IN real earnest. Such provisions
as are intended to prevent evils
are SO carelessly or equivoc-
ally drawn that they can be
easily evaded, sand the other pro-
visions, as the long and short haul
clause, make it absolutely necessary for
the railroads to charge higher rates
than they do now. 1t would be bless
ing to the railroads if they could be pro-
hlbited from giving passes, and it would
also be blessing to the public, for the
latter would get the benefit from the
reduced rates which would follow the
discontinuance Il dead heading; but
even IN this matter the bill fails, though
it seemingly undertook to cut off
passes.
1t is to be hoped that the President
will show more courage and less of the
demagogue than were exhibited by
Congress, and will send the bill back
with ringing veto. If there is to be
any snti-railway legislation, at least
let 1t be intelligebie, and capable of
being understood BY the public and the
railroad companies.